Medical marijuana is now legal in Florida – Orlando Weekly (blog)

click to enlarge Amendment 2, formally known as the Florida Medical Marijuana Legislation Initiative, has passed.

According to the Associated Press, Florida voters approved the state constitutional amendment Tuesday to effectively legalize medical marijuana. As of 8:30 p.m. EST, the amendment passed with a 71 percent approval based on more than 68 percent of the vote in at the time. This one is in the bag.

People United for Medical Marijuana raised almost double what the opposition campaign did, with The Morgan Firm and the Florida Democratic Party counting among the top donors to the effort.

The amendment language allows for medical marijuana to be prescribed by doctors to patients of diseases such as HIV, glaucoma, post-traumatic stress disorder, ALS and Chron’s disease. This is a significant expansion of the limited program in place now, which allows for certain physicians to prescribe non-smokeable low-THC cannabis to patients with cancer or who suffer from seizures or severe muscle spasms.

A similar initiative to Amendment 2 was defeated by a narrow margin in 2014, less than three points short of the 60 percent of votes needed for passing.